


Do Not Mourn (Be With Him)

by Angel_made_of_scars



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Incredible Hulk (Comics), Thor (Comics), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Betty Ross as Red She-Hulk, But Betty’s story is kind of different from the comic, Jane Foster is dying of cancer, M/M, Neither of our boys die here, Sort of based on the comics?, ThorBruce Week 2018, Thorbruce week prompt: Touch, just so I could sum it up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 06:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15551775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_made_of_scars/pseuds/Angel_made_of_scars
Summary: “Do you remember Betty Ross?” Thor says, out of the blue. He had taken a call in the other room, before sitting for a good ten minutes. They just sat in the kitchen of the Avengers compound, having tea, when he blurted it out. It stunned Bruce into such silence that he couldn’t answer. He took deep breaths and tried to slow his heart rate.





	Do Not Mourn (Be With Him)

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I’m back! Sort of. I literally saw the comic and I was like fuck I HAVE TO WRITE THAT.
> 
> So I don’t know when my next fic will be. I’m in severe writers block. But I’m glad I got this out.

“Do you remember Betty Ross?” Thor says, out of the blue. He had taken a call in the other room, before sitting for a good ten minutes. They just sat in the kitchen of the Avengers compound, having tea, when he blurted it out. It stunned Bruce into such silence that he couldn’t answer. He took deep breaths and tried to slow his heart rate.

Of course he remembered Betty. She loved him, even as the Hulk. The other guy loved her. Just like he loved... well. She had passed away. After the Abomination, as he was aptly named, poisoned Betty with his blood, she was quickly placed in cryogenic stasis.

It was no use though. As soon as she was de-thawed just enough to test if the drugs being pumped slowly into her cold lungs by aerosol gas were curing her, her heart gave out.

He was broken from his thoughts by a small sound, barely the equivalent of a whisper, but he would recognize a sniffle from uncontrolled tears anywhere by now. He turned, but Thor was facing away from him.

“Banner, would you ride with me to the hospital?” Thor asked shakily. All Bruce could do was nod, and put a hand on his much larger shoulder.

“Where’s this hospital?” Bruce asked quietly. Thor sniffed again and seemed to compose himself enough to tap something on his phone, before handing it to Bruce.

“You know we’re upstate. It could take an hour or two to get there.” Bruce said, as gently as possible. Still, it made Thor tense.

“Then we leave at once. Come Banner.” Thor said, storming down the hallway towards the elevator. Bruce just followed silently, wringing his hands in worry.

* * *

“You fell in love with Betty Ross, did you not?” Thor asked, about half way into the ride.

The divider that kept Happy from hearing was down, so Thor clearly didn’t notice or didn’t care who heard. Bruce was a little less ok with that, but he didn’t want to seem like he felt ashamed of it. He felt guilty, of course. The Abomination had just wanted to be a hulk, and it devoured his soul. It made him wish to harm her. Guilty, not ashamed.

“I did.” He said simply. He wanted to explain what that meant. How it had been a few years. That the love never goes away, but it fades, and you get used to not having it. You find something... maybe even better. Thor was silent.

“Thor, why are we going to the hospital?” Bruce asked gently. Thor looked at him, taking his gaze from the window, and Bruce almost choked on his own breath at the tears in his eyes.

“Her name is Jane Foster. I fell in love with her, despite her mortality.” Thor said. He choked up, and put a hand over his mouth, and Bruce reached a tentative hand over to Thors knee. He squeezed gently, and Thor finally removed his hand and gave him a painful smile. 

“After a while, she decided she couldn’t live her life waiting for me to come back to Midgard every few months. So, we said we would stay in contact, and go our separate ways.” Thor summed up. Bruce thought that would be the end, but he continued, seeming to just want to get it all out. 

“One day she stopped talking to me. She sent me a- an email. Tony helped me discover that. It said I needed to stop trying to speak to her. She needed... space. To think. Today I got a telephone call from her. It has been a year and nine months since we last spoke. I had a strange feeling about it.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Bruce asked quietly.

“She says she is... dying. Of a breast cancer. She doesn’t think she will live through the night. She said... she doesn’t want to. It’s too painful.” Thor choked again, taking a shaky breath and covering his eyes with a hand. Happy sped up, with a single glance in the rear view, where he met Bruce’s eyes.

“We’ll get there in time.” Bruce said, keeping the steadying hand on Thors knee. He put his larger hand over Bruce’s and gave that same sad smile before looking back out the window, with tears brimming. Neither moved their hands.

* * *

Thor stood outside the door, hand hesitating on the handle. His face was mostly hidden by the mask covering it, but Bruce could still see his devastated eyes.

He didn’t even have to wear the mask. The staff told them it may only be a few hours. She didn’t have time to contract a new germ. But Thor was still precautious.

“I-I cannot do it.” Thor said quietly.

“It’s your choice. But I know you can.” Bruce said quietly.

“Would you- would you just stay here? Wait for it to...” Thor stopped, not able to continue. Bruce pulled the larger man into a hug, and he let his weight almost fall on Bruce, almost, just from giving in.

“Of course.” Bruce said quietly. Thor nodded, steeling himself, before pulling away and entering the room.

* * *

He had been numb after he exited, with a few people Bruce had never met at his side. They all hugged him, and last he buried his head in the younger girls shoulder. She whispered something about taking care of “mew-mew” before he sat up, patted her back, and walked away, giving her a tiny smile.

It was the first time he had shown real movement in six hours, after getting back to the compound, and going straight to his room. Bruce had left him alone at first, when he closed the door and heard quiet cries.

After a couple of hours, it had quieted. He brought in a warm cup of tea, a large glass of cool water, and a large plate of leftover meatballs, that Thor himself had assisted in making the night before.

He didn’t even get away from the nightstand before Thor grabbed his wrist. He must not care that Hulk could snap at such a rapid move like grabbing him, but he didn’t, so Bruce gently pushed his hand off, and went to the bookshelf. He grabbed the first novel that he saw, and went around to the other side of the bed, sitting down carefully. Thor turned on his other side to face Bruce, and Bruce sat up against the bed frame and pillows to read.

It didn’t surprise him when, a few minutes into his book, Thor moved his head into Bruce’s lap. He just put his fingers in Thors now short hair, gently untangling the strands, while Thor seemed to draw patterns on his other leg with his finger tips.

They had done this a few times before. After the escapade in space, where Hulk has been out for two years. When he turned, it was immediate action, it couldn’t be helped. Then there was the war.

When it ended, everything caught up to both of them. In the time between finding a plan, Bruce would wake with terror ringing in his ears, from the screams. He tried to ignore Tony’s as well. He knew he wouldn’t be welcomed into his room, but he couldn’t stand being alone. He went to Thor, when he walked by his room and heard whimpering.

His nightmares had taken hold too. So they laid together, eventually with Thor holding Bruce. But sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep, he would sit up and read. And when Thor would wake in his almost silent horror, just breathing hard, he would turn over, and place his head on Bruce’s lap, in the warm lamp light.

One night, he was in such terror, that Hulk did take over. He turned, and he didn’t remember much, but Thor told him later what happened. Hulk cried, about being an attack dog in a fighting ring, and only being summoned to get hurt. Thor had hugged him, and let him hold him like a stuffed animal. After that he was even more reluctant to come out, even for the end of the war. But he did, and they won. They brought everyone back. That was the last they saw of Hulk.

After it became somewhat normal for Bruce to show up in Thors room, it was no surprise it left the bedroom. Thor would see him overly tired from working in the lab, and walk up behind him to hug him. Once he pressed a kiss to his head, and Bruce’s heart was hammering too hard for him to comment on it.

He moved on to, surprisingly, more tame things, like brushing a hand down Bruce’s arm in support after a stressful phone call, or like today, putting his hand over Bruce’s for the entire rest of the car ride. It was nice. He didn’t want to define it, because that meant it might change.

He had thought they had gained something that morning, when he asked about Betty. He was sure somewhere past the thoughts of the horror of his past that Thor would ask about love. But then he had cried, and they got in the car, and he started talking about Jane. The woman he fell in love with.

He thought maybe it would be over. But it didn’t seem to be, Bruce thought, as he glanced over his book to look at Thors reddening face. He was starting to tear up again, and Bruce put down his book on the nightstand on his side to focus on Thor.

He kept one hand in his hair, and the other he used to rub Thors arm, where it was reaching up to cling to his. He sobbed, and finally, Bruce took off his glasses and set them on the nightstand too. He went to slide down into the bed further, and Thor sat up at the same time, meeting in the middle. Thor ducked his head and gripped Bruce’s shoulders.

“It isn’t fair. She was mortal. And she still got less time than that.” Thor said. He’s teeth were clenching and he looked ready to scream. So Bruce pulled him in as tight as he could.

“Just let go.” He whispered.

That was all it took for Thor to let out an awful yelling scream, thunder crashing, and lightning hitting so close the compound shook. Bruce knew there were many, many lightning rods specifically for Thor so he wasn’t worried. Still, the yell was so loud that as he sobbed after that, the storm drowned out his now wrecked voice.

Their door flew open about a minute later, with Tony, Pepper, and Peter standing together, since they stayed in the same room now, neither men willing to leave their familial figure, and they had all come running together. Steve and Bucky showed up next, together for a different sleeping arrangement reasoning. He was sure the girls were probably in the hall, followed by Happy. He didn’t want even one of them entering the room.

“Thor lost someone today. Everything is alright.” Bruce said quietly, not letting up at all on his grip on Thor. Tony nodded in complete understanding, and looked around at the others. He waved them away, but before he shut the door he raised an eyebrow at Bruce. It was a clear question. Will you two be ok?

Bruce dipped his head, and went back to focusing on Thor, as he started to quiet. He was hiccuping, clearly run down. As the door clicked shut, Bruce pushed him back a bit to look at his face. He looked awful, but he wouldn’t say that. Instead, ran a hand down the side of Thors face, just as a comfort.

“Reach over and drink some of that water. Then let’s get some rest.” Bruce said. Thor just hiccuped and nodded, sniffing as he reached towards the nightstand.

He grabbed the cup and took a few sips, before chugging a few more. He put the cup back, before sliding down into the bed. Bruce turned off his lamp, drowning the room in darkness, before sliding down into the soft mattress with him.

“Hulk?” Thor croaked. Bruce squinted, surprised.

“What-”

“Your eyes. They are green and sad.” He said quietly. Bruce reached up and rubbed at them. He didn’t feel anything going wrong in his body to signal that he was turning. Finally it dawned on him, as a wave of sadness hit him.

“He’s saying he sorry too.” Bruce said. Thor nodded, seeming to appreciate it but not able to give a smile. Instead, he ran his fingers over Bruce’s cheek, and seemed to hesitate.

“Can you both feel this?” He asked in a hoarse voice. Bruce’s breath shuddered for a moment.

“I-I don’t know.” Bruce said honestly. He swallowed, and in the time it took to blink Thor had leaned in a pressed a quick kiss to his lips. Bruce didn’t have time to make a coherent response.

“Thank you.” Thor said quietly, pulling Bruce into his chest. Bruce didn’t fight it. He simply breathed in the otherwise silent room, save for the rain, Thors breath, and his own hammering chest, thinking he most definitely would take longer than him to get to sleep, despite the day Thor had.

* * *

As Bruce’s eyes opened, he was met by Thors back. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, seemingly just thinking. As soon as Bruce yawned, he tried to cover it, but Thor heard. He didn’t even turn around to speak.

“I’m sorry.” He said quietly. There seemed to be a carefully trained nothingness to the apology, like he didn’t want too much showing through, but Bruce didn’t want that. He sat up and slid across the bed, taking his legs out from under the blankets, and sliding them down next to Thors.

“For what?”

“I thanked you last night. For coming with me. For staying to wait. For... caring. But I must now apologize. I never... asked. To be that intimate. We have been doing a few things that I have seen on the television. In public even. We have slept together, but not intimately. I kissed you. She told me to.” Thor said. Bruce just looked at him and waited for an explanation.

“She could not speak much. She was very weak. Her hair was gone, and she was pale and thin. So I spoke. I spoke about a possible love I had found during our time apart. I told her I did not want her to feel as though I had been unfaithful. So I didn’t go too far.” Thor said. Bruce nodded, and Thor looked away for a moment, before continuing.

“She told me she had pushed me away because she didn’t want me to see her in pain. But in doing so she had denied me happiness. She said to go to the man I loved, after her time was up, and to show him I loved him. She said she wanted me to be happy. So I did the first thing that came to mind. But you looked so nervous. I thought if I had taken advantage of you, if the Hulk could feel it too, maybe he would come and push me away. But he did not. So I pulled you in and hoped I had not.”

Bruce was stunned into silence. Thor really thought he had gone too far, taken advantage of him with the kiss? When he was grieving? If anything Bruce would think letting him kiss his lips was taking advantage of Thors weak state. And... the man he loved? Why would Thor love him? Of course he himself felt... something. Something admittedly strong. And apparently the other guy did too. But what did he have to offer? Thor was a god. An actual god. He was a half mutant experiment.

“Banner- Bruce, please breathe. I’m so sorry.” Thor said softly. Bruce blinked and looked up. He had managed to lose time, spacing out and beginning to have an anxiety attack.

“I-I’m, shit, no. I’m sorry Thor, I just... are you sure? Me? You love me? Another mortal, older than she was, with gamma radiation poisoning resulting in a monster that bursts out of me-”

“Bruce, stop. I am positive. I love you, and your so called monster.” Thor said.

Bruce couldn’t stand the hammering in his chest any longer. He uncurled his body and leaned up, taking Thors neck in his hand and pulling him down to meet his lips. Thor gave in immediately, putting his larger hands on Bruce’s back. He put his other hand on Thors cheek, and when they finally split apart for air, they kept their hands in place.

“Would you accept my proposal, to be my partner?” Thor asked. Bruce chuckled and looked down for a moment, blush on his skin, before looking back up at him.

“I think I’ll accept that offer, yes.” Bruce said. Thor smiled for the first time in twenty four hours.

“Thank you.” He said happily, leaning in to kiss him again.

“You know ‘thank you’ isn’t the greatest response to that right?” Bruce asked.

“I’m aware. I’m just having too many emotions to form a response.” Thor said, pressing his forehead to Bruce’s.

“We’ll work through them.” Bruce promised, capturing his lips once more.

**Author's Note:**

> First try at GammaHammer! Go easy haha
> 
> Also as you may or may not know I put these stories on wattpad as well, and I need covers for stuff like this! And they are... sort of a rarepair? From what I’ve seen? I can barely find any art or edits! If you know of any good Thorce/Thulk artists or editors let me know!


End file.
